wreak
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play havoc with (someone or something)
To cause issues or disruptions for someone or something. The road closures have played havoc with rush-hour traffic. This humidity is going to play havoc with my hair.
wreak (something) on (someone or something)
To cause a lot of something very bad to happen to someone or something. Used especially with "destruction," "havoc," and "vengeance." This humidity is wreaking havoc on my hair. The twister wreaked untold destruction on the tiny town. She swore she would wreak vengeance on the man who double-crossed her.
wreak (something) upon (someone or something)
To cause a lot of something very bad to happen to someone or something. Used especially with "destruction," "havoc," and "vengeance." This humidity is wreaking havoc upon my hair. The twister wreaked untold destruction upon the tiny town.
wreak havoc
To cause a lot of problems. Termites have wreaked havoc on the structural integrity of our house, unfortunately.
wreak havoc with (someone or something)
To cause issues or disruptions for someone or something. The road closures have wreaked havoc with rush-hour traffic. This humidity is going to wreak havoc with my hair.
wreak vengeance on (someone or something)
To get revenge on someone or some group in a particularly harmful, violent, or malicious manner. The king began amassing an army in order to wreak vengeance on the nation that had attacked the kingdom. She swore he would wreak vengeance on the man who double-crossed her.
wreak vengeance upon (someone or something)
To get revenge on someone or some group in a particularly harmful, violent, or malicious manner. The king began amassing an army in order to wreak vengeance upon the nation that had attacked the kingdom. She swore she would wreak vengeance upon the man who double-crossed her.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
wreak havoc (with something)
to cause a lot of trouble with something; to ruin or damage something. Your bad attitude will wreak havoc with my project. The rainy weather wreaked havoc with our picnic plans.
wreak something (up)on someone or something
to cause damage, havoc, or destruction to someone or something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) The storm wreaked destruction upon the little village. It wreaked much havoc on us.
wreak vengeance (up)on someone or something
Cliché to seek and get revenge on someone by harming someone or something. The gangster wreaked his vengeance by destroying his rival's house. The general wanted to wreak vengeance on the opposing army for their recent successful attack.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
play havoc
Also, raise or wreak havoc . Disrupt, damage, or destroy something, as in The wind played havoc with her hair, or The fire alarm raised havoc with the children, or The earthquake wrought havoc in the town. The noun havoc was once used as a command for invaders to begin looting and killing, but by the 1800s the term was being used for somewhat less aggressive activities. For a synonym, see play the devil with.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
play/wreak ˈhavoc with something
cause damage, destruction or disorder to something: The terrible storms wreaked havoc with electricity supplies, because so many power lines were down.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
wreak havoc
Create confusion and inflict destruction. Havoc, which comes from the medieval word for “plunder,” was once a specific command for invading troops to begin looting and killing in a conquered village. This is what Shakespeare meant by his oft-quoted “Cry ‘havoc’ and let slip the dogs of war” (Julius Caesar, 3.1). Although the word still means devastating damage, to wreak it has been transferred to less warlike activities, as in “That puppy will wreak havoc in the living room.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the The Birds of Killingworth (1863) stated, “The crow . . . crushing the beetle in his coat of mail, and crying havoc on the slug and snail.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer